Timeline
The following timeline file is the official theme of the game, recounting major events drawn from a selection of mecha themes. It represents a fraction of major events in all the themes we have appable. While we make efforts to keep this file up to date, very recent IC events may not be added yet. Nonetheless, this file provides the backbone of the history of Super Robot Taisen MUSH, and covers the majority of truly world-shaping events we'll be focusing on. When adapting a theme for SRT, you will be asked to adapt events to those listed in this file wherever possible. ANNO DOMINI The Space Colony program begins. However, after only a handful of colonies are built, society on Earth is torn asunder as several meteors plow into the planet, polluting the air and sending regional conflicts spiraling out of control. The decades of fighting that follow are known later as the First Impact Wars. Advancement on Earth is crippled, although the colonies experience a boom of development. Eventually, the colonies declare independence from the damaged Earth, forming the United Colonies Federation; that year is marked as the first of a new calendar system - the New Colony Age. NEW COLONY AGE For the first fifty years of this new era, the colonies look down from their increasing technological heights towards the benighted Earth. Eventually, in year NCA 57, the colonies decide to intervene in the "Earthnoid" wars, sending their revolutionary mechanized weapons - Mobile Suits - to stop the conflicts. The would-be conquest of Earth is short-lived, as the Russian moon colonies unexpectedly reaffirm their loyalty to the Soviet motherland and send their own countermeasure to prevent conquest of Earth: the Ultimate Shield, Giganscudo. Finally, in NCA 58, UCF military advisor E.C. Ducer proposed a revolutionary idea to end the standoff: A martial tournament of mobile suits, with the winner standing supreme. His Gundam Fight Treaty was soon signed, and the nations of the Earth Sphere entered a 4-year cease fire. NCA 59 - 60 While the Russians begin overseeing the construction of a "new, more powerful Gundam Fighter", the rest of the world begins working on their own mecha designs. However, it appears that no other Earth nation will be prepared to participate in the First Gundam Fight. NCA 61 As the nations of Earth gear up for the First Gundam Fight, the far-range exploration craft Tsiolkovsky is completed by a Soviet design team, and crewed by a group of Earthnoids scheduled to travel to Jupiter. However, as the Tsiolkovsky departs, one member of its crew - George Glenn - announces to the world that he is a genetically modified human being he calls a Coordinator. He makes the process for this available to the public via the worldwide networks. Worldwide chaos is only staved off by the Soviet Union unveiling its Gundam Fighter: A revamped, even more powerful Giganscudo. The public outcry against Coordinators is held at bay while the world holds its breath awaiting the results of the coming year's Gundam Fight. Still, the conservative environmental group Blue Cosmos takes the time to immediately declare that it is completely opposed to the Coordinator process. NCA 62 July, NCA 62 - During the eleven-month elimination stage of the First Gundam Fight, in order to increase stability among the terrestrial nations of the Earth Sphere, several new unions of Earthly nations form - most noteably the Atlantic Federation, the Eurasian Federation, and the Orb Union. At the same time, the new unions reach a universal consensus that the genetic manipulation of human beings is unethical and illegal, effectively banning the Coordinator process. Despite this, several powerful and wealthy families make the arrangements to have their young children turned into Coordinators. NCA 62 December, NCA 62 - The USSR's Giganscudo proves victorious at the end of the First Gundam Fight. Its win is protested, but the Gundam Fight Committee upholds the decision. However, after this win, the Gundam Fight Committee changes the rules of the tournament to render Giganscudo less of a sure victor. One important change becomes one of the most important rules of later Gundam Fights: A unit whose head is destroyed is disqualified. NCA 66 The Second Gundam Fight. The United States of America's Gundam Fighter Phia Philadel, piloting the Neo American Gundam Liberty, is the victor. NCA 68 The Tsiolkovsky reaches Jupiter, and there discovers what the crew dub Evidence 01 - a fossilized winged whale, proving the existence of extraterrestrial life. The Tsiolkovsky is ordered to return to Earth with its discovery. NCA 70 The Third Gundam Fight Tournament is held. The victor is Dahal Muhammad and his Mummy Gundam III, both of Neo Egypt. NCA 74 Due to continuing tensions over Evidence 01 and the Coordinator Crisis, the Fourth Gundam Fight is postponed for another four years, leaving Neo Egypt in continued control. NCA 75 The Tsiolkovsky returns to Earth with both George Glenn and Evidence 01. Both are taken to the Zodiac research colony at Side 4, orbiting LaGrange point 5, for study. NCA 76 The world's religious figures meet to try and reach a conclusion with regard to recent scientific advances, but are unable to make any decisions. Their influence weakens considerably, and in the aftermath, there is a worldwide boom of Coordinator births, as acceptance of the Coordinator process skyrockets. In Side 3, Doctor T.Y. Minovsky founds the Minovsky Physics Society in an effort to supply viable, clean, compact fusion energy to the world. NCA 78 March - The Minovsky Physics Society begins work on a prototype fusion reactor using the rare isotope Helium-3. September - George Glenn, who had been under isolation while scientists at Zodiac examined him, is released. He begins his own research into Evidence 01, but by the end of the year has decided that it is not the first sign of extraterrestrials in our Solar System. He creates the Extra-Over Technology Institute, or EOTI, for the purpose of investigating Evidence 01 and other such signs. As their first act, EOTI teams descend on both South Ataria Island and Aidoneus Island, to begin investigating the impact points of Meteors 2 and 3. December - The Fourth Gundam Fight concludes. The victor is Sai Feilong and his Feilong Gundam, placing Neo China and its Earthly counterpart in command of the Earth Sphere for the next four years. Dahal Muhammad is accidentally killed during the title match, marking the first death associated with the Gundam Fight. A tremendous pyramid is constructed in Egypt in his memory. NCA 81 Doctor R. Tannhauser publishes his Theory of Ether Cosmology, which postulates the existance of invisible ether particles throughout space, which would affect high-velocity space travel in a manner similar to air resistance affecting terrestrial and air travel. For this work and his subsequent theses, outlining what will become known as Tannhauser Physics, Doctor Tannhauser will win the Nobel Science Prize for the next five consecutive years. NCA 82 The Fifth Gundam Fight is held. The victor is the French Baron Gundam, piloted by Fernando Loire. NCA 83 The radical politician Zeon Zum Deikun departs the Earth and moves to Side 3, located at the LaGrange point on the far side of the Moon. There, Zeon proclaims his belief that it is mankind's destiny to embrace the stars, pointing to the rapid development of spacecraft and colony technology as proof. Zeon postulates the coming of a new, evolved form of human - the so-called "Newtype" - and indeed, suggests that he may have already discovered several. NCA 86 The EOTI comes forward with several prototype systems based on their findings at Aideoneus and South Ataria Islands. Using these technologies, a successful Degeneracy Reactor is constructed, along with an accompanying Vanishing Motor to control its output and thrust. Using Degeneracy Radar, an EOTI team discovers a new planet, far outside the orbit of Pluto, which they dub Lucifer. It is quickly adopted as the Solar System's tenth planet; over the course of the next decades, degeneracy radar will enable mankind to confirm the existance of a total of 13 planetary objects within their Solar System, as well as the long-rumored twin to its sun, Nemesis. This year also marks the coming of the Sixth Gundam Fight, which is won by Vittorio Argento and his Gundam Tornado for the nation of Italy and its spaceborne counterpart, Neo Italy. The fighting is unusually savage this year, causing massive damage to settlements and recovery zones throughout the Siberian wasteland created by the ancient meteor impacts and the subsequent Impact Wars. NCA 87 In an effort to reduce casualties and damage from future Gundam Fights and similar battles, the private Siberian Railway Corporation, under the aegis of a British firm known as the London Internal Management Authority, begins forcibly moving people out of their homes in Siberia and into hastily constructed domed cities. NCA 89 At the behest of Zeon Zum Deikun, Side 3 defects completely from the United Colonies Federation, forming the independent Republic of Munzo. NCA 90 The Seventh Gundam Fight is held. The winner is Gundam Fighter Wolf Heinrich and his Kaiser Gundam, for Germany and Neo Germany of the Eurasian Federation. NCA 93 An archaeological survey into several suspicious sites around the Siberian wastelands is commissioned. The teams find a number of what appear to be lifeforms and biotechnological mecha. Particularly, they discover the skeletal "archetype" of what one researcher, Adrock Thurston, dubs the Nirvash typeZERO; further digging produces many more such skeletal alien frames, buried in an unusual layer of sediment that appears to be composed of, bizarrely, coral. Another team discovers the titanic biotechnological shell of what they decide to call an Overman. The EOTI requests that the sites be handed over to them for study, however the Soviets refuse, claiming the sites, which are technically in their territory, belong to them. The dispute is ultimately resolved when the EOTI appeals to the current rulers of the United Colonies Federation, Neo Germany, who not only grant the EOTI unfettered access to the findings, but once and for all declare that the Siberian wasteland zone is an independent region that belongs to the UCF itself. In space, colony leader Heero Yuy begins preaching messages of peace and demilitarization. Although his message is popular among the masses, government leaders across the Earth Sphere are reluctant to listen. NCA 94 The Eighth Gundam Fight is held. The winner is Neo Russia's Cossack Gundam, operated by Skirei Zhirinovs. NCA 95 Despite fears of yet another takeover attempt using their new political power, the beginning of the Soviet Neo Russia's reign is not marked by any massive political shakeups. Rather, their only unusual request is a slight reversal of Neo Germany's edict in NCA 93: the Overman samples are stripped from the EOTI and awarded to researchers from the Siberian Railway Corporation. Nirvash and the other archetypes are left in the EOTI's care. EOTI makes good use of the generosity: Discovering that the archetypes appear to be skeletal mecha, they begin constructing armored exoskeletons for them. They dub their finds Light Finding Operation crafts, or LFOs. Development on military LFOs - called Kraft Light Fighters, or KLFs - begins soon thereafter. NCA 96 Researchers at the Minovsky Physics Institute discover an exotic, inexplicable particle within their experimental fusion reactors. The particle defies description under any existing school of physics, including the revolutionary physics of R. Tannhauser. Dubbing it the Minovsky Particle, or M Particle, they immediately begin research into its properties. NCA 97 April 7 - Colonial peace activist Heero Yuy is assassinated by an unknown gunman. Rioting ensues, leading the UCF to send in an intervention force. NCA 98 The Ninth Gundam Fight is held. The winners are Neo England and the United Kingdom of the Eurasian Federation, via Gentle Chapman and his Britain Gundam. NCA 99 January 1 to August 24- The first translight battleship built using the wonders of Tannhauser Physics, the Luxion, is completed. Over the course of the year, she is crewed and stocked thoroughly amid a great deal of fanfare. Her captain is chosen to be Admiral Yuzo Takaya. The ship is launched on August 24, with the singular goal of exploring the galaxy as a flagship for mankind. Among the various global celebrations, Zeon Zum Deikun himself comes forward to personally honor the crew of the Luxion, commending their bravery and courage in carrying Humanity's banner to the stars. August 25 - Following a banquet held in honor of the Luxion crew at Side 3, Zeon Zum Deikun is found dead in his chambers. Although the exact means of his death is uncertain, it seems likely he was poisoned. He is succeeded as leader of the Republic of Munzo by Degwin Sodo Zabi. NCA 100 January 4 - The genius Professor Saotome announces his discovery of a mysterious background radiation he has dubbed Getter Rays. Although his understanding of the enigmatic energy is flimsy at best, he has discovered that one of their properties would allow translight ships such as the Luxion to travel without invoking the time dilation issue otherwise known as the Rip Van Winkle Effect. Despite the dangers of using a poorly-understood energy source, the potential of such a discovery earns Saotome numerous sponsors, and he is soon able to begin construction of a set of three spacecraft powered by the Getter Rays. August 15 - Degwin Sodo Zabi unilaterally declares himself the sovereign of Side 3, and establishes the new Principality of Zeon in the process. He begins sweeping purges of Zeon Zum Deikun's loyalist followers. In the chaos, Zeon's two children - Casval and Artesia - go missing and are presumed dead. September 9 - George Glenn is assassinated by a young Natural during a guest lecture at Stanford. It is widely believed that the anti-Coordinator group Blue Cosmos arranged the murder, but no proof can be found. The EOTI, temporarily leaderless, quickly appoints Glenn's close friend, the young visionary researcher Bian Zoldark, as their interim leader. November - A Japan-funded archaeological expedition to the Isle of Bardos ends in tragedy when German contributor Dr. Hell goes mad, and murders the entire staff. The only survivor is Professor Juzo Kabuto, who warns that Doctor Hell was driven mad by the discovery of ancient mechanical warriors - potentially far more powerful than most modern mecha - in salvageable condition. He immediately begins a research project into a means to prevent Dr. Hell's inevitable invasion from succeeding, with financial support from the United Nations. An investigation team sent to the site finds the entire island gutted. NCA 101 January 14 - Bian Zoldark is made the permanent leader of the Extra-Over Technology Institute. December 19 - As contender nations send their machines to Earth in preparation for the Tenth Gundam Fight, word reaches the Earth that the Luxion has fallen under assault in the Pegasus Arm of the galaxy. The attackers are an unknown race of monstrous, interstellar insects referred to only as Space Monsters. 536 members of the crew go missing; only 47 noncommissioned officers, by some miracle, survive to make their way back to Earth. The Luxion has been completely destroyed. NCA 102 February 24 - Bian Zoldark announces to the UCF leadership that the EOTI has found proof that not only were Meteors 2 and 3 of alien origin, but that there is proof that the aliens plan to come back. He is largely dismissed as a lunatic, but to keep him from spreading panic, he is allowed to spearhead the anti-alien Machine Weapon development program known as "RX Project," as well as placed in charge of the design and construction of Earth's new flagship, the Exelion. The EOTI, with surprise assistance from several Earthly governments, also begins working on reconstructing the mammoth alien ship found at the landing site of Meteor 2. December - The Tenth Gundam Fight concludes. Gentle Chapman and his Britain Gundam prove victorious for an unprecedented second consecutive time, causing minor rioting and political unrest. NCA 103 September 13 - An explosion of unimaginable force, centered in Antarctica, rocks the entire planet. The Antarctic ice cap melts immediately, causing flooding and tsunamis that sink entire cities. Billions die within the first twenty-four hours of the catastrophe, which soon becomes known as Second Impact. Local conflicts across the planet flare up into full-on war, up to and including a nuclear weapon being dropped on the city of Tokyo on September 20, killing another 500,000 people. Conflict in the Middle East immediately reaches crisis levels, including Hindu nationalists seizing control of India and running every Muslim they can find out of India and into Pakistan. The colonies are powerless to stop these "Second Impact Wars", as they are now busily recalculating their own orbits due to the changes in Earth's orbit wrought by the catastrophe. However, an EOTI task force does determine that the explosion was most likely caused by a very small meteor moving at very nearly the speed of light. One side effect of Second Impact is the saturation of the air with an unknown light particle, which EOTI investigators dub Transparance Light Particles, or Trapar. Another strange phenomenon is the sudden appearance of mushroom-like coral formations, which begin to arise at seemingly random intervals at equally random locations across the planet. The formations, which seem to be related to the mysterious strata of coral found in Siberia, become known as Scub Coral. NCA 104 February 14 - The Second Impact Wars are ended by the signing of what eventually becomes known as the Valentine Treaty. Among the provisions of the Treaty is a clause creating a new, unified planetary government for the nations of the Earth - a new United Nations, to complement the colony-based United Colonies Federation. However, although a unified army enables the new United Nations to pacify most remaining conflicts rapidly, war continues to rage in the Middle East. The only concession to peace in the region is the formal end of the Hindu riots in India, transforming the nation into the theocratic Hindustania. The Soviet Union resolves to end the crisis on their own, sending in their RK-91 Shamrock ARM Slaves. The conflict, which goes on for several more years, is known as the Fifth Middle East Conflict. The Principality of Zeon, after years of testing and experimenting with the properties of Minovsky Particles and other elements of Minovsky physics, rolls out its first successful Mobile Suit powered entirely by Minovsky technology - the MS-05 Zaku. Among its innovations is the system that sets Zeon mobile suits apart from the battery-powered systems currently in use: A supercompact fusion reactor, granting essentially unlimited power. Within the next two years, a combat-capable version is produced, training battallions are formed, and the first warship designed to carry such mobile suits - the Musai-class battleship - is commissioned. NCA 106 The Eleventh Gundam Fight is held. This year, Gentle Chapman's wildly successful gunnery-based tactics have led to an enormous upswing of Mobile Fighters outfitted with heavy assault weaponry rather than for melee combat. Despite this, Gentle Chapman and his Britain Gundam win for an unprecedented third consecutive term. Riots break out in several space colonies and terrestrial cities in response, and the victory is hotly contested. Despite political pressure, the Gundam Fight International Council upholds the victory. Neo Britain holds the reigns of power for yet another four years. A team of EOTI researchers discover a strange form of flying fish, primarily found in Siberia, which appears to have adapted rapidly to the newly Trapar-laden atmosphere. Further research into this animal's properties yields Reflection Film - a substance which could allow for man-made machines to fly on Trapar. However, the current airborne Trapar levels are too low to enable such propulsion. NCA 108 The battleship Exelion, designed using fourth-generation interstellar travel theory to maximize ether fluid dynamics, is completed. Designed to host over a thousand RX-7 Machine Weapons and only slightly fewer Cosmo Attacker V spaceborne fighter jets, the Exelion is the flagship of an enormous fleet, built under the aegis of Bian Zoldark's EOTI with the singular purpose of making a pre-emptive strike against the terrifying Space Monsters. It is crewed primarily by members of the Top Squadron, a super-elite mecha squadron trained specifically to pilot the highly advanced RX-7 Machine Weapons. Shortly after the Exelion Fleet departs, the air across the planet is completely saturated with an unexpected, unprecedented surge of Trapar. The number of Scub Coral sightings increases exponentially; simultaneously, a distorted region of spacetime hovering above Siberia forms. The potential for a global meltdown becomes imminent, but is averted when the catastrophic upsurge abruptly levels off. The EOTI comes forward to announce that the incident was caused by experiments conducted by its LFO Research Division at the organization's earthly headquarters on Aidoneus Island. Although unable to explain the cause, they credit world-famous researcher Adrock Thurston with sacrificing his life to stop the catastrophe. This incident, which lasted for several months, becomes known somewhat ironically as the Summer of Love. September - A team of EOTI researchers sets up shop in Siberia to attempt to investigate the spacetime distortion in the sky there, which has become known as the Great Wall. A separate team confirms that the amount of Trapar released by the Summer of Love should be sufficient to allow for vehicular flight using the medium. November - The first LFO redesigned to make use of Trapar for propulsion is successfully tested. Although unorthodox - the propulsion system looks like nothing so much as surfing - the amount of mobility and flight speed possible is truly remarkable, even among other flying mecha. Retrofitting of existing LFOs and KLFs begins immediately. NCA 109 April - The EOTI, at the request of the United Nations, allows the UN Spacey to take complete command over and responsibility for the reconstruction of what was once called Meteor 2. The soon-to-be ship becomes known under the codename Super Dimension Fortress-1, Macross. In exchange for leaving the UN Spacey to handle the matter on their own, the EOTI is granted complete autonomy with regard to its rapidly forming base of operations on Aidoneus Island. May - Professor Saotome debuts his new Getter Ray-powered interstellar spacecraft, the Getter Planes. However, the ceremony is interrupted by an attack from below by powerful cybernetic dinosaurs. Calling themselves the Dinosaur Empire, these creatures announce that they have come to reclaim the surface world. However, they are beaten back down by a combined assault by the armed Getter Planes and by a UN mecha battalion. Conventional weapons prove somewhat ineffective. The attacks continue, and soon the Soviets begin fielding Giganscudo against the enemy, which levels the playing field somewhat. Several organizations begin constructing their own singular giant robots in order to help protect against the Dinosaur Empire, but many of them will not be prepared for years. Professor Saotome and his Getter Planes largely disappear from the public eye, forgotten amid the furor of the attacks. December - Due to the tensions between the Principality of Zeon and the rest of the Earth Sphere, the ongoing turmoil of the Fifth Middle East Conflict, the rapidly intensifying tension between the PLANTs and their UN backers, and the political turmoil created by Neo Britain's unprecedented three consecutive victories in the Gundam Fight, the Twelfth Gundam Fight is postponed another four years. The tournament will now be held in NCA 114. NCA 110 January 3 - The Principality of Zeon, in a message broadcast across the Earth Sphere, declares total war against both the United Nations and the United Colonies Federation. They immediately launch a full-out nuclear, chemical and biological weapon attack on Sides 1, 2, and 4. However, not wishing to draw the Coordinators of the PLANTs into their new war, the PLANTs are spared the catastrophe; in the end, Side 4 ends up composed only of spared PLANT colonies. Zeon also forces a colony out of orbit in an attempt to drop it on the Federation base at Jaburo; the colony misses, forced off course by a scramble sortie of the Giganscudo. It lands in the Southern Ocean, causing tremendous tidal waves, but relatively little damage to land masses, due to the Antarctic's near-total destruction in Second Impact. This brutal first week of warfare becomes known as the One Week Battle. On January 11, as the One Week Battle settles down into a slightly tamer conflict, the colonies of Side 6 and the nations of the Orb Union declare complete neutrality in the conflict. January 15 - The Battle of Loum begins in Side 5. The destructive conflict ends in the crippling of the United Colonies Corps., the capture of fleet commander General Revil, and most catastrophically, the complete eradication of Side 5. The violence of this battle and the One Week Battle leads to a treaty negotiation between Zeon, the UCF and the United Nations, held on January 31 in the battered remains of Antarctica. The resultant Antarctic Treaty does not end the war, but it does strictly prohibit weapons and tactics of mass destruction, including nuclear, biological and chemical weapons, as well as colony drops. The treaty also guarantees the neutrality of Side 6, the Orb Union, and several lunar cities. September 18 - A Zeon task force strikes at a UCF/UN joint research center located at Side 7, where construction is underway on experimental Minovsky-powered mobile suits. Civilian Amuro Ray is thrust into the battle, activating one of the experimental mobile suits, the RX-78-2 "Gundam". His participation in the battle allows survivors to evacuate to a new Pegasus-class cruiser, known as White Base. The entry of White Base and her ragtag crew into the war unexpectedly turns the tide of the entire conflict. October - The UN and UCF armies jointly found a new, super-elite task force, known as the Aggressors. The Aggressors are tasked with simultaneously protecting the Earth from interior threats like the Dinosaur Empire, and defeating major threats from without such as Zeon. Their first mission is to descend on Africa and assist the White Base in fending off the savage attacks of the fearsome Zeon operative Ramba Ral. With the assistance of the Aggressors, White Base's forces are able to repel the attackers, ending with a dramatic on-foot battle against Ral's forces attempting to invade White Base. Ral dies in the fighting, and White Base and the Aggressors go on to participate in numerous other offensives as the combined UN and UCF armies mount their counterattack. December 30 - As the renewed UN and UCF space forces descend on Side 3, Zeon Sovereign Degwin Zabi attempts peace negotiations. His efforts are destroyed when his son Gihren orders that the Solar Ray superweapon be fired, annihilating fully a third of the incoming fleet - as well as Degwin's flagship. The only saving grace for the UN and UCF space forces is that the Solar Ray, incomplete at the time, is destroyed by the stresses of that one shot. The surviving armada descends upon the Zeon final defense line at the space fortress A Baoa Qu the next day, managing to secure a victory after vicious fighting. The victory is aided by the desertion of Zeon Captain Aiguille Delaz and his troops. NCA 111 January 1 - The conflict soon to be known as the "One Year War" ends with a peace accord signed at the lunar city of Granada by the United Nations, the United Colonies Federation, and the newly re-dubbed Republic of Zeon. The new Republic's leadership is entirely civilian, directed by advisors from both the UN and UCF. In honor of his achievements, Amuro Ray, who is by now a world-renowned ace pilot, is offered a position in the Aggressors; disgusted with the toll of the war, he declines the offer, and subsequently disappears from the public eye. The World Trade Organization calls together representatives from the most prominent corporations across the Earth Sphere, as well as many different mercenary space-based salvage and construction groups. The WTO leadership proposes that, to prevent economic collapse and maintain the neutrality of the private sector, these many groups band together under one banner - a single, Solar System-wide information and supply network, to serve as a safe haven and legal and military protection for all of its members. The proposal is approved unanimously. The network becomes known as the Trailers, named for the similar society of workers that existed during the height of the era of colony building. Almost as soon as the Trailers are formed, bands of them begin appearing frequently at the sites of Dinosaur Empire attacks. They serve both to fend the creatures off and help sift through the rubble for survivors and salvage. NCA 112 Many former Zeon military forces evacuate to the asteroid base of Axis, located in the asteroid belt beyond Mars. Others form under the aegis of the Delaz Fleet in the ruins of Side 5, now known as a Shoal Zone. PLANT secretly rolls out its first prototype mobile suits - designed for use by Coordinators, their technical specifications and resultant OS complexity are so monumental that Naturals have no hope of emulating them at current technology levels. Meanwhile, the Zodiac Alliance steps up its activities and becomes the Zodiac Alliance of Freedom Treaty, or ZAFT. The Soviet Union, continuing to struggle with suppressing the Fifth Middle East Conflict, unveils the world's first second-generation ARM Slave, the RK-92 Savage. They immediately deploy the new ASes into the Middle East. The far superior maneuverability of this ARM Slave, easily rivaling that of a mobile suit, enables them to push back the tide by invading the one area that they had hitherto been unable to police effectively - the mountainous regions where Mujahideen gather. Due to the new AS, the Fifth Middle East Conflict rapidly contracts from a sprawling conflict to a high-intensity war fought mainly in the mountains of Afghanistan. NCA 113 March - The UN, no longer willing to accept further mayhem in the Middle East, mobilizes the Aggressors to the region. The Aggressors sweep across the warzone like a tidal wave, destroying pockets of resistance wherever they can be found. At the last, they reach the headquarters of mujahideen hero Majid. The Aggressors engage Majid, as well as a host of his supporters including his protege and adopted son Kashim, revolutionary leader Sahib Ashman and his Desert Dawn resistance group, and Rashid Kurama and his Maganac Corps. The fighting is brutal, but in the end, the Aggressors triumph. However, for unclear reasons, no captives are taken. Still, the battle is decisive, and though Majid and his followers remain at large, the Fifth Middle East Conflict ends at last. September - The Republic of Zeon defies the will of the United Nations by sending an ambassador to a summit meeting in the PLANTs. There, along with Siegel Clyne and several other representatives of the PLANTs, Zeon and several other minor nations and colonies sign an accord declaring mutual trust and brotherhood between the spacenoids of the colonies and the Coordinators of PLANT. The UN sends no delegate, but Gentle Chapman himself attends on behalf of the UCF; although he voices approval of the accord's goals, unified opposition from the conservative voting blocs of the UCF prevent him from actually signing. NCA 114 January - Under the direction of General Jamitov Heinman, the United Nations forms an elite group known as the "Titans" to discourage and disrupt colonial independence movements. Detractors claim the group to be little more than a front for radical war hawk organizations such as OZ and Blue Cosmos. Neo Britain does not outright approve the formation of the organization, but it also fails to oppose them. December - The finals of the Twelfth Gundam Fight come down to Neo Hong Kong's Master Asia, piloting the Kowloon Gundam, and Neo Britain's Gentle Chapman in his Britain Gundam. Chapman's sniping prowess and boxing skill prove no match for Master Asia's nearly supernatural martial arts acumen, which his Mobile Fighter amplifies even further. The victory at last ends Neo Britain's 16-year reign over the Earth Sphere, although some analysts worry that the drastically more conservative Neo Hong Kong will prove a far more perilous master in these tense days. NCA 115 Wong Yunfat - Neo Hong Kong's prime minister, and thus the new Chairman of All Space - announces his first act upon coming into power: He roundly endorses the formation of the Titans, giving the organization unfettered access to the resources of the UCF. General Heinman seizes upon this opportunity, quickly commissioning a full-scale fleet for Titan use. Blue Cosmos' membership grows to the hundreds of thousands, and persecution of Coordinators living on Earth reaches such a height that virtually every Coordinator on the surface flees to the PLANTs. Meanwhile, Siegel Clyne is elected Chairman of the PLANT Supreme Council. NCA 116 The Titans begin the construction of the Gryps Colony at Side 7, their spaceborne headquarters. A meteor slips by Earth's defensive network, nearly killing an astronaut conducting a space walk at the time. It then collides with Siberia and blasts an enormous crater into the Earth. Thanks to quick action on the part of EOTI and other organizations, environmental impact and worldwide damage is minimal; however, much of the restoration work done on the Siberian Reconstruction Zone is set back by decades, and large patches of the region are reduced to arid wasteland. EOTI teams descending on the site find a gaping hole in the ground leading straight through into the interior of the Earth. No more than a month after research begins, an enormous fortress arises from the soil some distance away. The titanic, tapered citadel sends half-man, half-beast emissaries, armed with mecha resembling nothing so much as giant faces. These emissaries identify themselves as the Beastmen of the Spiral Empire. After a brief exchange of introductions and facts, the Beastmen open fire, laying claim to the Siberian tunnel and killing the entire EOTI and Trailer team. With the UN and UCF forces spread thin across the Earth Sphere, and political tensions mounting, the armies of Earth are not able to prevent the Beastmen from expanding their territory until the forces of the Spiral Empire have claimed an area hundreds of miles across. Chairman Siegel Clyne orders Junius Seven through Junius Ten remodeled for agricultural production. When the sponsor nations attempt to militarily stop the effort, PLANT mobile suits soundly thrash the sponsor nations' fleet. Clyne further demands complete autonomy for the PLANTs - warning that their vital resource exports will halt on January 1 of next year if their demands aren't met. Attempts at negotiation and mediation all fail spectacularly. July 31 - Colony 30 of Side 1 holds a massive protest against the Titans. The Titans respond by flooding the colony with nerve gas, killing the entire population. Resentment against the United Nations and the newly conservative UCF grows throughout the colonies, leading to the formation of the Anti-Earth Union Group (AEUG). August - Several colonies, including a number of Soviet-controlled ones, declare their total independence from the UCF, citing the tyrrany of the Titans and the radical politics of groups like Blue Cosmos as reason; the movement becomes known as NID4. The Soviet Union replies by deploying Giganscudo to discourage the rebels, but the machine is hijacked en route and used to seize Hope Colony. Unwilling to negotiate nor to allow the rebels to escape with their trump card, the Soviet Union, working with the Titans, launches a full-scale assault. The outer wall of the colony is almost completely destroyed in the ensuing carnage, killing not only the rebels but everyone inside - including the family of Aggressor member Tempest Hawker. September - The tragedies of NID4 continue, as the colony of Elpis is held hostage by terrorist mastermind Archibald Grims. Grims kidnaps prominent Elpis resident Cattleya Fujiwara-Branstein, and threatens to flood the colony with nerve gas unless his intentionally ludicrous demands are met. Aggressor Elzam V. Branstein, Cattleya's husband, is forced to choose between allowing the colony to be gassed, or destroying the cargo bay holding the gas - and his wife along with it. Left with little option, Branstein destroys the cargo bay and his own wife, but fails to kill Grims in the process. October - The Aggressors are mobilized against the NID4 uprising; the unit is hobbled both by their own adamant refusal to cooperate with the Titans, and the grief of two of their leading members. However, by the end of November, they successfully defuse the situation, and are returned to inactive duty as test pilots for the United Nations' Personal Trooper development program. December - Colonel Kar-Wai Lau, leader of the Aggressors, goes missing during a testing accident. The United Nations disbands the now gutted unit, transferring the Aggressors' duties to the Titans. Speculation that the Aggressors' tragic losses during the NID4 conflict were orchestrated by some shadowy party is widespread, but no investigation is launched. NCA 117 January 1 - As the PLANT Supreme Council meets with a group of mediators from the PLANT sponsor nations, they are targeted by a terrorist attack, killing one member. At first, Blue Cosmos claims responsibility. However, it quickly becomes clear that the attack was staged by the sponsor nations themselves, and PLANT ends all resource exports immediately. The sponsor nations, which had come to depend on these exports to survive, are rendered completely destitute in short order. February 5 - United Nations Secretary-General Rose Approval orders all involved nations back to the negotiating table at the neutral lunar city of Copernicus, warning of possible UN intervention if a deal is not reached soon. The attempt is interrupted by a terrorist attack, killing the representatives of both sides, and much of the UN and UCF leadership. Secretary-General Approval is critically injured; PLANT representative Chairman Siegel Clyne survives only due to a shuttle malfunction delaying his arrival. OZ claims responsibility for the attack, and intelligence agencies soon confirm that it was jointly carried out by terrorist masterminds Gauron and Archibald Grims. The attack becomes known as the Tragedy of Copernicus. February 7 - Chairman of All Space Wong Yunfat, at a press conference in Alaska, announces the formation of the Earth Federation Alliance. In the process, the new leadership fills the void left by a critically injured Secretary-General Rose Approval with a new Secretary-General, Olbani. The Alliance - a unified coalition government composed of governments from both Earth and space, cutting out the middle-men of the United Nations and United Colonies Federation governments - declares all-out war against the PLANTs only a few days later, on the eleventh of February, and launches an invasion fleet from Ptolomaeus. February 14 - The Earth Federation Alliance fleet arrives at Side 4. However, the opening seconds of the attack leads to an unexpected catastrophe, as one of the missiles loaded onto the mobile weapon carrier Roosevelt was secretly loaded with a nuclear warhead by Blue Cosmos loyalists. It strikes Junius Seven, destroying the colony and killing nearly two hundred fifty thousand people, including the wife of conservative PLANT politician Patrick Zala. This tragedy becomes known as the Bloody Valentine. Chairman Clyne soon after swears to battle the EFA until the bitter end, and offers trading preferences and other benefits to those who shun the Alliance. Many nations in Oceania and South America, as well as the spaceborne Republic of Zeon, answer Clyne's call; meanwhile the Orb Union renews its policies of complete neutrality within the conflict, adopting all neutral territories under its banner. February 22 - A battle erupts for control of the space station Yggdrasill - an international station constructed during the early years of the New Colony Age. ZAFT deploys an experimental technology known as the N-Jammer, which displays effects similar to Zeon's Minovsky Particles. With the Federation Army accustomed to Minovsky warfare by now, the effect is not as crippling as ZAFT apparently intended, and the Federation almost wins handily... February 23 - ...until fully two thirds of the Federation fleet turns on their allies. In the middle of combat, Bian Zoldark announces that the people of Earth had suffered for too long under a government intent on ignoring the danger in front of it - and that the EFA, by pursuing war with PLANT rather than war with the impending alien menace, had failed in its charter wholesale within mere days of its inception. Zoldark declares that those who wish to save the Earth rather than destroy it should join with him. Once the EOTI, those who believe in humanity have become the sword which will save mankind: the Divine Crusaders. March 8 - ZAFT, supported by the new Divine Crusaders, launches a full-scale assault on the Victoria Spaceport in Africa. The fighting is savage, but it appears certain that the DC-aided ZAFT will win the day, particularly due to the unexpected arrival of the Dinosaur Empire as backup. The tables turn completely when the sky is rent by an enormous beam of some unknown energy, destroying several of the Dinosaur Empire creatures in a single attack. The source is a group of Trailers intending to make sure the Victoria Spaceport remains completely neutral - backed up by a giant robot apparently formed of the three former Getter Planes, now known as Getter Robo. Although the Trailers insist they hold fealty only to their own code and the laws of economics, their assistance, and particularly the rise of Getter Robo, assures that Victoria Spaceport remains a neutral hub. April 1 - With logistical assistance from the Divine Crusaders, ZAFT deploys a series of N-Jammers across the surface of the Earth. Their initial properties are revealed to hide a much more sinister function - the N-Jammers are in fact Neutron Jammers, stymying nuclear fission reactions by restricting the motion of free neutrons. The world plummets into a military and economic crisis, as the Minovsky-based mobile suits that form the backbone of the EFA army can no longer be started. A level of death rivaling that of Second Impact is expected over the course of the rest of the year from simple lack of power and food. April 7 - While the N-Jammer crisis rages, secret colony insurgent groups begin Operation Meteor - five superadvanced mobile suits are sent to Earth, with the goal of crippling the secret society known as OZ. April 5 - Catastrophe is averted when bands of Trailers attack more than half of the N-Jammer sites, destroying them and restoring power to most of the globe. Intelligence agencies suspect the counterstrike was orchestrated by the Orb Union, but some members of senior staff believe it may have been the work of the secretive counterterrorism army known as Mithril. April 10 - EFA scientists scramble to retrofit the mobile suit fleet with new equipment hastily designed to dampen the effect of the N-Jammers long enough for affected mobile suits to be of use. While this goes on, the Romefeller Foundation - a major financer of the Earth Federation Alliance - steps forward and provides a solution of their own: A fleet of unmanned Mobile Dolls, controlled from afar by computer systems grounded against both N-Jammer and Minovsky scrambling. May 12 - Professor Juzo Kabuto is murdered inside his laboratory by operatives of the Divine Crusaders, led by Dr. Hell's minion Baron Ashura. The DC forces then launch a Machine Beast-based assault toward the EFA's stronghold in Japan, Izu Base. They are repulsed when Juzo Kabuto's grandson, Koji, sorties in Professor Kabuto's final creation: The nearly-indestructible super robot, Mazinger Z. After the battle, Koji signs on with the EFA special task forces, operating out of the Photon Power Laboratory. June 7 - Degeneracy radar detects a massive-scale warp distortion heading toward Earth, to arrive sometime in the next few months. Analysts suspect it to be the returning, presumably triumphant, Exelion Fleet. The EFA, already too badly battered to send a welcoming party, opts to allow them to return to Earth on their own with only a welcome transmission. The DC reaction is quite the opposite - nearly two thirds of the DC fleet departs from the Earth Sphere for the outer Solar System, despite ZAFT's intentions to make a play for the Side 2 resource satellite Nova one week later. EFA military analysts are at a complete loss to explain the action. Still, with the DC fleet substantially weakened by their comrades' departure, when the battle for Nova begins, it quickly enters a complete deadlock. July 12 - The Earth Federation Alliance army abandons Nova, and the fighting across the Earth Sphere comes to a stalemate. With more than two thirds of the DC's fighting strength, as well as much of its leadership, halfway across the solar system, the Divine Crusader war grinds to a halt. Although periodic attacks from the Dinosaur Empire and Dr. Hell's army continue, the assistance of Getter Robo and Mazinger Z prove more than enough to match these two powers and keep the situation from escalating. For now, both sides take the lull in the fighting to try and find a trump card to break the stalemate and bring their enemies to their knees. In particular, the EFA, in conjunction with Orb-based Morganroete, Incorporated, begins working on a countermeasure to ZAFT's dramatically more powerful mobile suits. September 15 - Degeneracy radar picks up a massive warp-out in the vicinity of Metis - not of the expected triumphant Exelion Fleet, but rather of only a handful of ruined ships, and hundreds of thousands of STMC Space Monsters. The situation looks grim, until the Divine Crusader armada arrives and unleashes its full fury upon the enemy, shattering the Space Monster assault force with a level of power never before witnessed in the Bloody Valentine War. The DC armada then begins the long trip back toward Earth, with Exelion and its precious cargo of now veteran Top Squadron pilots in tow. September 20 - The long-awaited launch date of Meteor 2, now properly renamed the Super Dimension Fortress Macross, arrives. The enormous battleship - by far the strongest piece of Extra-Over Technology currently in Federation hands - may well completely turn the tables of the war, even with the Divine Crusaders' powerful Armored Module mecha. However, the launch ceremony is interrupted by the attack of an alien fleet appearing, unexpected and undetected, from the moon. The alien ships - enormous and heavily armed - begin to bombard South Ataria Island, where the Macross is stationed. Although both DC and Federation forces engage the enemy, the attack doesn't end until the Macross, attempting a desperate Space Fold-type warp maneuver, disappears completely, taking South Ataria Island's civilian settlement with it. The alien ships depart soon thereafter, and the EFA marks the Macross and her entire crew off as lost. October 23 - The EFA, desperate to find an advantage against the DC before hostilities resume, tests a new prototype mobile weapon, the Huckebein, on the moon. Powered by a Black Hole Engine, the Huckebein is part of a new series of Extra-Over Technology-based weapons to counteract the Divine Crusaders, known as Personal Troopers. However, the test ends in tragedy as the Black Hole Engine goes berserk, killing all but a handful of those on site. Among those wounded is pilot Raidiese F. Branstein, younger brother of ex-Aggressor Elzam V. Branstein, who loses his hand. The Huckebein project is subsequently almost totally scrapped, becoming infamous as the Vanishing Trooper. November 5 - As both the Divine Crusaders and the EFA struggle to rebuild amid the destruction wrought by the stalled out Bloody Valentine War, a pirated message is transmitted across every available frequency. The transmission, apparently originating from the titanic citadel that arose in Siberia a year ago, features a group of four half-man, half-beast hominids, standing before a shadowed throne. They announce themselves as the Holy Generals of the Spiral King, and declare total war on the humans of the surface. They launch a fullscale assault on Moscow, which is opposed not only by Mazinger Z and Getter Robo, but by two new mysterious robots: A black titan with a lion's face on the chest, and a red robot with two faces that seems to be based on the Spiral Empire's own Gunmen. With the unexpected assist, the tide of the Spiral Empire is pushed back...for now. NCA 118 January - As the new year dawns, the Divine Crusader fleet returns home at last. As those still on Earth monitor their return, it becomes clear they have a repaired Battleship Exelion and its crew of Top pilots in tow. At the same time, on the neutral Side 6 space colony Heliopolis, Morganroete secretly rolls out a group of new Coordinator-spec mobile suits for the Earth Federation Alliance. The armies of the Spiral Empire prepare for another offensive in Siberia, and the rebellious group of Trailers known as Gekko State step up their acts of highly visible defiance of the state. March 3 - Military bases of the EFA and DC alike, and even several Trailer safehouses, explode under a cataclysmic barrage of beam fire and explosive sabotage, as highly advanced mobile suits swoop down from the heavens and lay waste to any army unfortunate enough to be in their path. A message goes out to the whole of the Earth Sphere from the capital of the Orb Union, spoken by the scientist Aeolia Schenberg: A man thought dead for centuries. He announces that he represents the armed intervention force "Celestial Being", and surrounded by the leaders of the Orb Union, the Anti-Earth Union Group, and even the shadowy anti-war army known only as Mithril, declares that humanity is in a crisis from which it cannot liberate itself alone. Man kills man, brother kills brother, while the innocent lose their parents, and weep, he says, and such madness will be tolerated no more. In that moment, the Orb Union declares total war not against the Divine Crusaders, the Earth Federation Alliance, or the alien threat, but against all, anywhere, who would stand between humanity and true prosperity and concord. And from the shadows, alien eyes watch the turn of Sol's blue gem with envy, preparing to strike from their bases far away...and from far too near. Back to: News Index Category: News Files